January 15, 2020 Volume 15

Husky Families,

It has been a great January so far and it appears the snow has finally arrived. January is a very important month. We will take the opportunity to

recognize the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. As a result, there will be no school on January 20th. We want to make sure that kids know there is so much more to this day than a day off school. On January 16th, we will have an all school assembly in recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Our speaker will be Stephy Nobles-Beans. Stephy is the Associate Chaplain in Campus Ministries for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Ministries. She is also a Professor at Whitworth teaching Diverse Christian Leadership, as well as African American Preaching and Legal and Ethical Leadership.

The winners of Northwood’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Art Contest will be announced during the assembly. We had 41 students from high school and middle school submit magnificent art communicating the message of acceptance. Dr. King’s legacy can teach us acceptance, leadership, the power of our voices, that we have purpose and can be impactful, and that we are stronger together. These are similar to the messages communicated through the student art submissions. We will continue learning about these topics and end the week with a “Mix It Up Day” organized by our leadership students. Perhaps, most importantly, Dr. King reminds each of us to look at ourselves. Are we doing what’s right? Are we accepting of others? Are we always striving to identify and eradicate our own biases? Are we inclusive? Are we using our voices for good? Our goal is to make certain what Dr. King teaches us would never be isolated to one day or one week, but is ingrained in Northwood culture every day.

Friday, January 24th marks the end of the first semester. For students new to semester and letter grading, this means that their grades will become final. There is still time to raise

them and complete missing assignments. Don’t rest right now. As Dr. King would say, “If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” Although this quote concerned social progress, it can also be applied to our academic progress. Parents, please check Power School and contact teachers to find out how we can team together to best educate your son or daughter. If you have the question in your head, “Should I call my child’s teacher?” The answer is always, “Yes.” Along with pushing, remember to let your kids know how proud you are of them and celebrate the good things. You have really awesome kids, and before you know it they will be graduating high school. Remember to appreciate.

I am looking forward to another new year at Northwood. I am so impressed with our staff who ensures that our students are growing...our cooks, our custodians, our para-educators, our counselors, our teachers, our secretaries, and our administration. Northwood is the right place for your child. Proud to be a Husky!

Principal’s Update

Building Relationships, Inspiring Change, Lighting a Fire

Husky B-ball Players are on the Court! 7th grade basketball is in the second week of their season. We have 48 girls & 74 boys working hard during practice. Games begin next Wednesday, Jan 22nd and the following weeks will be crammed with exciting Husky basketball. Our athletes and coaches really appreciate our fantastic facilities at Northwood, so please help us keep them clean and remember not to bring any food or drink into our gyms. Thank you for your support and for picking up your athletes on time! 8th grade basketball starts Tuesday, February 18th. Please refer to the online registration link on the Northwood website. You’ll need to provide an updated physical and be sure to pay all ASB and sports participation fees (Fees include: ASB - $15.00 and Participation - $35.00). Practices will be held February 18-21st from 2:40-5:00 for all 8th grade b-ball players. Once teams have been selected, each team will receive a schedule for the remainder of the season.

Spring Sports are Around the Corner Track and 8th grade baseball both start in April, right after spring break. Don’t hesitate to register ahead of time.

Encourage Good Choices & Personal Leadership Athletics present an awesome opportunity for our students to become leaders and representatives within their school and community. Please continue to encourage your student athlete to be a positive role model. Having good behavior in class, working hard on assignments, and staying away from poor

options like vaping, alcohol, and other drugs are characteristics we want to see from all of our Huskies. Talk to your student athlete about having “personal leadership” by being in charge of themselves and taking actions that lead them in a direction toward their goals and success. When classmates and athletes exhibit these traits, others tend to follow their examples.

Check out our Athletics Events update on the front page of the Northwood website! You can find it in the bottom, right-hand corner. Click

on “Show Calendar” to see it month by

Building Relationships, Inspiring Change, Lighting a Fire

Pat Round, Athletic Director

Meet Beth Pipkin one of the teachers new to Northwood.. The grades she teaches are 7th grade and 8th grade. The subjects she teaches are English and Physical Ed. The things that got her into teaching were her love of reading, literature, and being around other people. She also got into teaching because she liked the challenge of teaching other people that reading can be fun. Her favorite part about teaching is meeting all of her students and getting her students to realize that they are smarter than they think they are. The other schools she taught at were North Central High School and Riverpoint Academy. She has been teaching for 20 years. She went to college at Eastern Washington University.

Mrs. Pipkin has seven people in her family. Her husband, daughter Morgan 23, son Gabe 20, daughter Lucy 14, son Judah 10, and son Leo 8. She has five animals, 4 cats and 1 dog. Her cats names are Callie, Alex, Beyonce, and Jeff. Some of her hobbies are reading, playing games, doing puzzles, and watching theatre shows. Her favorite animal is a miniature unicorn. Her favorite sport is to watch her boys play baseball. Her favorite movie is Moana. If she could travel anywhere she would go to Italy to see all the ancient places and things. Her favorite music is country and Broadway show tunes.

Mrs. Pipkin grew up here in Spokane, WA. Her favorite subject growing up was English. The sport she participated in was gymnastics. In her free time growing up she’d read, ride bikes, and played with her neighbors and siblings. Her favorite childhood memory was when her family went to a drive in Movie Theater. Her favorite school elective was band. Her favorite books to read when she was in middle school were the Anne of Green Gables books.

Welcome to Northwood Middle School Mrs. Pipkin!

By Alana Readicker

Staff Spot Light

Building Relationships, Inspiring Change, Lighting a Fire

BRAINS!

Many Northwood 7th grade science students have been dissecting sheep brains this month! This was a great activity that started out with learning about the Nervous System and how signals move from sense receptors to the brain. Then we got to explore and learn all the parts of the brain (frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital lobes, etc..).

In order to cement students’ understanding, they then got to dissect brains and look at the external and internal structures, which control everything in the body. This is just one of the many wonderful hands-on activities our Huskies get to experience.

“This was so cool! And not TOO gross...” - Maddie Sletten 7th Grade Husky in Mrs. Heissenbuttel’s class

Attendance Line

(509) 465-7580

Looking Ahead

1/20 – Martin Luther King Jr Day – No School

1/24 – End of 1st

Semester

1/24 – Early Release for students – 11 am

2/17 – President’s Day – No School

Building Relationships, Inspiring Change, Lighting a Fire

Northwood MS 8th Grade Career and High School Transition Dates 2020

March 6 Career Interest Inventory / High School and Beyond Plan (completed in Science classes)

March 13 Mead HS Stem Program visits Northwood Science classes

March 16 Mead High School 9th Grade Counselor presentation in

Social Studies classes (info comes home)

March 18 Freshman Parent Night and Class Registration at Mead HS – 6:00-8:00 Formal presentation starts at 6:30 followed by Class Registration – At

6:00 info tables for sports, clubs and activities are showcased

March 23 Honors English applications due in counseling center (June 8 Parent/Student meeting @ MHS at 5:30)

April 1 8th Grade Job Shadow Day

May 1 Skills Center Summer Academy on-line registration

starts www.connectwithnewtech.com Starting in April information is available online on what programs/classes

will be available

June 15 Summer school begins (Math & English). HS credits available to 8th grade students. Summer school brochures and more details available in May

Link to Mead HS Student Services 🡺 https://meadhs.mead354.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=258616&type=d&pREC_ID=588540

9th Grade Counselor - Mike Phillips 🡺 mike.phillips@mead354.org

Building Relationships, Inspiring Change, Lighting a Fire

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Art Contest